New York City continues to be an expensive place for tenants — but renters got a little relief in the last month of 2024. The latest data from Apartment List rental report on the region shows that median prices slipped 1.2 percent to $2,324 in December.
Overall, NYC ranked 89 out of the 100 largest cities the marketplace covered. Aurora, Colorado saw the worst declines in December, with rents plunging 2.4 percent. On average, a NYC apartment is staying on the market for 45 days, which is a six-day increase in the past year.
That said, NYC's rents are still up 2.8 percent versus 12 months ago. Also, the year-over-year performance is outpacing the entire state's 0.7 percent growth and the -0.6 percent drop the national average has seen.
Moreover, NYC's rental median clocks it in as the eighth most expensive big city among 100 areas in the country, according to Apartment List. It costs $2,219 on average for a one-bedroom and $2,339 for a two-bedroom unit.
"For comparison, the median rent across the nation as a whole is $1,206 for a 1-bedroom, $1,358 for a 2-bedroom, and $1,373 overall," Apartment List wrote.
"The median rent in New York City is 69.3% higher than the national, and is similar to the prices you would find in Chula Vista, CA ($2,337) and Boston, MA ($2,298)."
When considering the New York metro area, which includes some New Jersey cities like Hoboken, Bayonne, and New Brunswick, full-year rent growth was 0.4 percent. Hoboken was the most expensive place to rent in the area, with the typical price at $3,380. Yonkers saw the highest annual gain at five percent, while West New York saw the worst activity, with rents dipping 5.1 percent. New Rochelle, Hackensack, and Fort Lee also saw declines, with rents dropping 3.6 percent, 1.4 percent, and 0.6 percent, respectively.